gray whale

A mother gray whale and calf spy-hopping.

What gray whales are telling us about ecosystem change in the Pacific Arctic

Gray whales in the eastern North Pacific have been shrinking in number for the past six years — and the decline seems to be getting worse. This is surprising because gray whales had made a big comeback after being hunted almost to extinction. But now, warming oceans are changing their Arctic feeding areas. Less sea ice and shifts in ocean […]

Gray whales number about 27,000 along the West Coast of North America. Photo by

Changes in gray whale phenology and distribution related to prey variability and ocean biophysics in the northern Bering and eastern Chukchi seas

From the abstract: “We discuss potential impacts of observed and inferred prey shifts on gray whale nutrition in the context of an ongoing unusual gray whale mortality event. To conclude, we use the conceptual Arctic Marine Pulses (AMP) model to frame hypotheses that may guide future research on whales in the Pacific Arctic marine ecosystem.” Authors: Sue E. Moore, Janet

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